Hearth Tax Research
The hearth tax provides historians with a rich resource; the comprehensiveness of numerous returns combined with near-national coverage sets this evidence apart from other pre-modern surveys and tax records. Even more unusually the hearth tax, unlike other taxation surveys, recorded the names of those who were not liable to pay the tax, and hence provides a means of looking at a full range of social groups).
The pioneering work of C.A.F. Meekings during the mid-twentieth century continues to act as the foundation stone for hearth tax research. Readers consulting hearth tax manuscripts in The National Archives (TNA) can immediately recognise the distinctive commentaries, and owe Meekings a debt for the way in which he put the hearth tax files in order according to the different systems of administration. Equally economic historians who are interested in statistical data can turn to his excellent compilation of hearth tax accounts, published posthumously.
A further key development since 1985 has been Jeremy Gibson’s handlist of hearth taxes (and other Stuart taxes and loyalty lists). Gibson has provided a summary of every hearth tax return and assessment, whether in TNA, county record offices, or other libraries and archives. Each digest includes a brief commentary on the date, geographical coverage, state of the manuscript, approximate number of names included, and details of complete or partially published editions. No single study has done more to illuminate the archival mysteries of the hearth tax over the last thirty years.
Also of great value to those embarking on using the hearth tax as a research source is Elizabeth Parkinson’s study of the establishment of the tax and the complexities of its administration in the period 1662-66. Although perhaps appearing to be little more than lists of names and numbers, hearth tax documents present a range of issues and difficulties that need to be fully understood before the material they contain can be fully utilized and Parkinson’s comprehensive examination of the system is essential reading for unpicking these technicalities.
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